Minnesotans United for All Families, the driving force behind the campaign to defeat the proposed marriage amendment, raised $3 million from Sept. 19 to Oct. 22. The group's main opponent, Minnesotans for Marriage, says they raised about $2.4 million in the same time period.

With a healthy lead in the polls, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is spending some of her political capital in the divisive fight over the marriage amendment. In a new email to potential donors, Klobuchar says she has pledged to help raise $10,000 for the fight against the controversial state ballot measure that would define marriage as between a man and woman.

Campaign finance records show Rev. Peter Lambert of St. Louis Catholic Church, about 45 miles west of Duluth, donated $1,000 about six months ago to Minnesotans United for All Families -- the primary group fighting the controversial ballot measure to essentially ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota. The News Tribune reports no other Minnesota priest in a recognized diocese has contributed to any group trying to defeat the constitutional amendment.

Freedom to Marry, a national group fighting to defeat the ballot measure to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman, will air its first television advertisement in Minnesota on Thursday. MPR reports the 30-second ad will run on television and cable networks in the Twin Cities and Duluth. It features a Duluth couple who have been married for nearly 60 years. Yvonne and Fred Peterson say gay couples should also be allowed to marry.

The total reported by Minnesota For Marriage - combined with last week's report from a group fighting the amendment - means the fight over whether Minnesota should ban same-sex marriage has already generated more than $2 million in contributions.

Black voters in Minnesota are the latest audience sought by opponents and supporters of marriage amendment, the Star Tribune reports. The president of the national NAACP was in the state Monday to urge black voters to reject the ballot measure that would ban gay marriage. Church leaders are divided.

John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis, is among a handful of Minnesota executives to publicly declare their opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment that should ban same-sex marriage in the state. The Pioneer Press reports Taft is working behind the scenes to build a safety-in-numbers that will allow more high-profile business leaders to speak out against the amendment before the November election.

Jewish Community Action used a Minnetonka event to rally opposition to the marriage amendment that will appear on Minnesota's ballot this fall. One of the group's leaders says the amendment, which would ban same-sex marriage, is contrary to the values of the Torah. Not all rabbis agree, though.